Jury Finds Murder Defendant Guilty

By Nina Wilson [former] - June 26, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On June 20, a jury found a man accused of murdering two individuals guilty.

Datuan Blanchard, 24, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and two counts of firearm use in a felony violent crime in relation to the 2022 murders of 24-year-old William Ferebee and 23-year-old Leion Davis Jr. on the 4000 block of Wabash Avenue.

During closing statements on June 20 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lynn S. Mays, defense counsel accused a significant witness in the case of lying.

“The truth remains the same, but lies always change,” defense attorney Jason Rodriguez said in regards to the main witness in a drive-by double homicide case. 

Blanchard was the alleged getaway driver in the drive-by shooting that killed both men. According to the prosecutor, Blanchard’s cousins shot Ferebee 23 times and Davis eight times and then they drove away in a red Acura TL.

The car was later burned down and reported stolen by the witness, who owned the car. 

Rodriguez claimed that for the jury to find Blanchard guilty, they would have to rely on the main witness’s statement.

The witness was Blanchard’s girlfriend and the mother of his child. She said she just wanted to do the right thing, but evidence said otherwise, according to Rodriguez.

He called her statement a lie, saying she signed a plea deal in a related accessory to murder charge that required her to testified in court. Under the plea deal, Rodriguez said she would receive probation instead of jail time.

Blanchard’s girlfriend was found guilty of accessory to murder because Blanchard allegedly admitted that he was the driver in the shooting, and she didn’t report him to the police until after he was incarcerated. According to Rodriguez, her plea deal with the court was that she would testify in good faith in Blanchard’s trial. 

The prosecutor relied heavily on the witness’s statement, as well as phone evidence including a jail phone call, a 911 call and cellular data.

The jail call happened while Blanchard was in prison and talking to the witness. The witness said he told her someone “snitched” on the case. She said, after the call, she immediately called the police to report the murders.

There was also a 911 call from a woman down the street who heard gunshots from two distinct sounding guns.

Cellular data showed that three suspects were online around the time before the murders, offline in airplane mode during the incidents and back online after the murders.